|
Credit: Paul Boltwood
Explanation:
How far can you see from your own backyard?
Across the Solar System, even across our Galaxy,
these sights are not difficult.
Recently, however, amateur Paul Boltwood
gazed across the universe.
His record setting image is shown above in false color.
Boltwood imaged sources more faint than magnitude 24 in response to a challenge made to
amateur astronomers by
Yale Astronomy Professor Bradley Schaefer.
Objects this dim tend to be
galaxies billions of light years away.
Although professionals have
recently recovered objects
as dim as magnitude 30, Boltwood's image rivals even the
best professional efforts of only a few decades ago.
Since then, photon-catching
Charge Coupled Devices (CCDs) have allowed
high efficiency frames to be added together.
As evidence, Boltwood used only a 16-inch telescope,
but co-added 767 exposures each lasting only two minutes.
|
January February March April May June July August September October November December |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: universe - CCD
Publications with words: universe - CCD
See also: